Disclosure ref: 17 sent 4/9

Freedom of Information Act 2000 Request

Rape flagged convictions and percentage statistics by age of offender

Request

I would be grateful if you could provide the number of convictions after trial and the percentage of convictions after trial, for ‘rape flagged cases’, broken down by age of offender and type of case in the following categories; child rape, date rape, stranger rape, domestic rape and any other category for the past 5 years for which data is available.

Response

The official statistics relating to crime and policing are maintained by the Home Office and the official statistics relating to sentencing, criminal court proceedings, offenders brought to justice, the courts and the judiciary are maintained by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). Data held by the MoJ in relation to ‘rape cases’ can be found here. The major differences in recording leads to the CPS reporting a higher number of prosecutions than that recorded in the official statistics produced by the MoJ.

The CPS records data in relation to ‘rape flagged’ cases. The data does not constitute official statistics. The flag is applied to CPS files from the start of the case following an initial allegation of rape. This flag will remain in place even if the decision is taken to charge an offence other than rape, or where a rape charge is subsequently amended. Data on rape prosecutions includes not only cases resulting in a conviction for rape, but also cases initially flagged as rape where a conviction was obtained for an alternative or lesser offence. It is therefore important to note that the contest data provided in this response will include some cases which do not feature an offence of rape. The rape flag system is used by the CPS for case management purposes to ensure that the principles of the rape and sexual offence policy are considered throughout the life of all relevant cases.

‘Child abuse’ and ‘domestic abuse’ flags are also applied to relevant CPS files from the start of the case. It is important to note that these flags are applied to scenarios or circumstances that form part of the case rather than to specific charges.

The CPS holds contest data for the following categories of ‘rape flagged case’:

1. **Rape and child abuse** (cases featuring a ‘rape’ flag and ‘child abuse’ flag);
2. **Rape and domestic abuse** (cases featuring a ‘rape’ and ‘domestic abuse’ flag);
3. **Rape, child abuse and domestic abuse** (cases featuring a ‘rape’ flag, a ‘child abuse’ flag and a ‘domestic abuse’ flag);
4. **Rape only** (cases which only feature a ‘rape’ flag);
5. **Total rape** (all rape-flagged cases combined. This is the data set that is published in the annual VAWG report, the most recent version of which can be accessed [here](#)).

In the tables provided in the enclosed attachment, the data has been broken down by the available defendant age categories (10-13, 14-17, 18-24, 25-59, 60-69, 70-79 and 80 plus).

In your question you refer to ‘date rape’ and ‘stranger rape’ cases. The CPS does not hold separate data sets for these two case categories but outcomes for these cases are recorded within the ‘rape only’ category.

**Information Management Unit** 020 3357 0899 IMU@cps.gov.uk